Rob Calisome
Rob Calisome is a character from the Q-Basic Gorillas webcomic series by Dozerfleet Comics. He is a human ally of the Topaz Division Gorillas, particularly Col. Flix. He is also the boyfriend and eventual husband of Stacey Mirafuentes-Calisome, and the father of Kenny Calisome. A supporting character in the first story, he appears again briefly in Orangutans of Fire during his wedding reception. He does not become plot-relevant to the series after that until the Obliteration timeline, when he and his wife and son must flee their home in South Haven to join the Qilantans' last stand against a new strain of Ice Chimps that has launched a coup in DC - and now threatens Qilantans all over the world. He is portrayed on this database by a Photoshop-modified stock self-portrait taken by DeviantArt photographer Shawn Mohsin. Top quote I don't wanna be a cat, I don't wanna be a cat; '''I DON'T WANNA BE A CAT'!!!'' Skills and equipment Rob was generally inept early on when it came to fighting and self-defense. He loses in battle easily against Aqhat, and spends most of the first story's timeline having been turned into a cat. Over time, Stacey encourages him to invest in gun training. Screechie also gives Rob basic training in how to use some weapons donated to his family to celebrate Stacey's heroics in defeating Quirini - and to hold on to her weapons until her probation officer allows her to possess them again. While he is never as skilled a fighter or schemer as Stacey, he does tend to make a better negotiator. He is also adept at finding his way in the wilderness, allowing himself and Stacey to survive when they got separated from their families on a trip. By the Obliteration timeline, he and Stacey share a few weapons given to them by Screechie, as well as a highly-modified Jeep. Character bio Early life Rob was born and spent most of his life in Lansing, MI. His family attended a church on the west end of Lansing, where he grew up alongside his childhood friend and eventual wife Stacey Mirafuentes. Their families frequently went on vacations together, and the parents often fantasized about the day their kids would marry. In their confirmation classes, Stacey would often give in-depth answers that nobody else in her class could come up with. Second only to her was Rob. While both of them were intrigued by New Testament history, they both particularly took interest in historical events dated to the time of Solomon. Rob would eventually move to South Haven and would study arts and journalism, specializing in the field of greatest interest to him and Stacey. After deciding at the end of high school that they never wanted to be apart for long, Rob and Stacey entered a romantic relationship. They made it their goal to visit each other as often as their schedules would allow. Of specific interest to Stacey, Rob, and Stacey's uncle George Mirafuentes was the legend of the Bokomar - and the mythical Transmogrins that they guarded. It was believed several Canaanite tribes attacked the Bokomar one day, and that all of them vanished. Evidence of the Bokomar having existed was all over parts of Ethiopia and South Africa, with the former believed to have been their original kingdom shared with ancient Sheba. Engagement It was during the summer preceding Stacey's senior year in college, however, that she and Rob went on a trip to the Florida keys with their families and got separated due to a mixup landing them on the wrong ferry headed to the wrong island. They eventually were reunited with their loved ones, but time spent alone together on the island brought with it temptation. Rob proposed to Stacey that same evening. Nervous about the possibilities, the two agreed not to take another, similar risk until after they were able to have their wedding. They tried to keep details of their evening of being lost a secret; but Stacey's father Lyle deduced what was really happening. He encouraged Rob and Stacey to go forward with their plans, but to get their lives in order first. Rob assured Lyle he had no intentions of marrying anyone but Stacey. Rob was later there to offer Stacey moral support as Lyle was dying of prostate cancer in the hospital. It was not long after that in which Rob's own parents died in a car crash, leaving him to fend for himself in South Haven. Things appeared promising that at any time after Stacey got her diploma in history studies, she could land a job at a museum in the South Haven area. Rob was determined to ensure Stacey got that ideal job in the area, once she was done interning for Fred Regale. Career Rob studied arts and journalism, as well as history. He took various jobs as he could around South Haven to support himself, often getting care packages from Stacey and Anna. He would focus as much time on his common interests with Stacey as he could; but he was also highly involved in the Historical Association of South Haven. He eventually secured a job at the Michigan Maritime Museum in the area. But his love for studying Bokomar history with Stacey never went away. No matter what, they were frustrated with their inability to ascertain the exact fate of Qilanta's followers, nor just how many Qilantan temples ever really existed. The couple's plans took a slight detour after one fateful day in which Stacey was mistaken for a burglar by Lansing police responding to a silent alarm going off at Regale's office. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Stacey inadvertently injured an officer, and was charged with assault. Anna quickly got on the phone after Fred gave her all the important details, and informed Rob of the situation. Rob promised to call Stacey the day she made bail, and discuss what to do if the charges against her weren't all dropped. ''Q-Basic Gorillas'' having turned Rob into a cat.]] Main article: Q-Basic Gorillas (webcomic) Rob calls Stacey to ask about her impending court date details, as well as wondering when they will be able to visit next. However, he is unaware that Pighat and Niqmad are stalking Stacey. He learns the hard way when he is ambushed in his own home by Aqhat, who turns him into a cat with the Felinus Transmogrin. He remains a cat until the Omni Transmogrin is destroyed by Stacey in the Battle for Lansing, thus liberating from the feline spell anyone in Michigan and everything 500 miles away from Lansing. Anna locates Rob and helps get him to Lansing while the whole state tries to make sense of the events in Lansing. Col. Flix and Screechie locate Rob and Anna, and introduce themselves formally. They take Rob and Anna to the Topaz Headquarters to be reunited with Stacey, as she recovers from the shock of destroying the Omni. Rob and Stacey are awarded lifelong honorary status as allies of Topaz, and are rewarded with a highly-modified "Q-" Jeep and several Q-weapons. However, the terms of a treaty between the now-exposed Qilantans and the US government requires Col. Flix and Queen Qilmara to hand over Stacey and Akilina to authorities. The two of them are sent to share a cell at Huron Valley Correctional, and Rob promises to marry Stacey when she gets out - and to visit as often as he is allowed to. Wedding Rob marries Stacey around the time that the events in Q-Basic Gorillas: Orangutans of Fire take place. Burrpatch is able to briefly attend the wedding reception; but is soon called to Mexico to help out with battling the Pyrangutans. Little about the new Calisome family is known after this, except that Stacey moves to South Haven to live with Rob. ''Obliteration'' .]] Main article: Q-Basic Gorillas: Obliteration After Lord Milabari creates his own version of Ice Chimps and takes over DC, he thrusts all of America into martial law. He targets the Calisomes for assassination due to their past association with the Qilantans. However, Banana Breath is able to intercept and tip off Stacey to what is happening. Rob assists his wife and son Kenny in escaping from South Haven with their lives, while BB brings in reinforcements to deal with the would-be assassins. Rob and his family, having nowhere else to go, hide in Montana with the mostly-now-human Qilantan nation whilst its few members that remained Gorillas try to reunite and launch a counter-offensive. The Calisomes help defend their Qilantan friends; but they stay away from the Gorillas' last stand against Milabari's forces in DC. Personality While passionate about the things he loves and believes in and absolutely loyal to Stacey, Rob is a bit more timid than Stacey. Like his eventual wife, he becomes better at self-defense and combat over time when dealing with their adversaries. However, he begins his confrontation with them as being slightly cowardly. His time spent as a cat embitters him, making him yearn for revenge against all Ice Chimps. Development Character role In 2003, when the first concept for the first Gorillas comic was first proposed, there was a joke about how the Ice Chimps "wanted to turn everyone into cats." Rob was developed as an extension of this joke, as he became the means by which it would be demonstrated that they had this goal in mind. He was depicted to be a parody of Shia LeBouf in Transformers, except completely useless and having his girlfriend hijack the central human protagonist role away from him. He is allowed to get some character development over time, but was always intended to be more of a plot accessory than a full-blown character. This was due to the fact that in the first story, his whole existence revolved around how he influenced Stacey's decisions and informed what the Felinus Transmogrin could do. He served little other purpose, as it was desired that his presence in the story and romance with Stacey not be allowed to overshadow the Gorillas and their role in the story. This is also why he and Stacey both have much-reduced roles in Orangutans of Fire and don't appear again until Obliteration. After their purpose has been served to segue readers/audience into the Gorillas' world, emphasis shifts to the Gorillas themselves. They retain their role as the actual main characters, without Rob and Stacey's romance arc getting in the way. The decision to structure things this way came in large part due to reaction about how the human romance plots in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had a tendency to overshadow those films' non-human protagonists and their roles in the story. It was decided that those wanting to read / watch something about the Q-Basic Gorillas would care more about the Gorillas themselves and what happens to them, than to Rob and Stacey. Visual model Rob's model was made to fit his purpose in the story, such that he was made to appear as bland and generic as possible. This was not so much to enhance Stacey, as it was to make Rob and Stacey both less interesting than the Gorilla characters that are the stories' main focus. Rob was first rendered in 2012 in The Sims 2. He got a Sims 3 update in 2013 that was almost a perfect transplant of his Sims 2 look between games. For purposes of wiki art here and to get his face to look more realistic, a Sims 4 render was made on January 1st of 2015. Model portrayal On Thursday, September 14th of 2017 around noon EST, Shawn Mohsin of DeviantArt was chosen to be the model face for Rob Calisome on the Dozerfleet Database. See also * Col. Flix * Stacey Mirafuentes * ''Q-Basic Gorillas'' (webcomic) * Q-Basic Gorillas: Orangutans of Fire * Q-Basic Gorillas: Obliteration * Aqhat External links * [http://bulldozerivan.deviantart.com/gallery/37520951 Q-Basic Gorillas fanfic film pitch concept art album] at DeviantArt * Human allies of Topaz for The Sims 3 at DzMD Category: Q-Basic Gorillas characters